Bear Creek Academy
by R.TreeHill
Summary: Imagine Haley going to a private school while dating Nathan who still goes to Tree Hill High. He decides to visit her for lunch one day and he's surprised to see that her only friend is a guy. (Naley One-Shot.)


**A/N:** _I literally wrote this out today. The second day in a row I've been inspired to write and upload after months of silence._

 _I'd been playing with the idea of Haley going to another school while still dating Nathan for a couple days now (sort of how Rory did in Gilmore Girls; btw shoutout to the reboot). Plus, who doesn't like a little jealous Nathan? ;) &for those who are interested in my writing, I have another chapter story in the works, I just want to get it done before uploading, that way it doesn't take me months to update._

 _Anyways, I hope you enjoy this Naley one-shot :) xx_

* * *

She rushed as fast as she could. She was never late. Never. It was her first day at Bear Creek Academy, one of the most prostegious private schools in the state and a half hour commute from home. She had applied the year before but was deferred due to her financial situation. However, she got a call halfway through the semester from the academy stating good news: they could afford to give her a scholarship. Haley was ecstatic. Of course she would attend, but it would mean leaving behind her best friends and her boyfriend. She was just settling into Tree Hill High and she felt like she was becoming somebody. Now here she is again, starting over.

When she arrived at the school the bell was just ringing. Great, I'm officially late, she thought as she grabbed her book bag and headed to the administrative office.

She waited patiently for her class schedule. Although she's always loved school, she was nervous. She began to fidget with her uniform-something else she had to get accustomed to.

"Haley James," called the school assistant.

"Here," Haley replied. She stood up and received her class schedule alongside a map of the school. She nodded as the assistant gave her directions to her homeroom. She exited the office and followed the instructions she was just given. Upon reaching the door that would be her new homeroom, Haley felt suddenly nauseous. She placed her hand on the door knob and turned it.

All eyes were on her. Apparently everyone was allowed to have some free time to work on homework or talk with friends. Haley interrupted their moments.

"Can I help you?" asked the teacher.

Haley responded, "Hi, I'm Haley I'm a new student here."

"Can I see your schedule?"

She nodded and handed it to the teacher.

"Very well, I'm Mrs. Streep choose an empty seat. There are no assigned seats in homeroom. And welcome to Bear Creek Academy."

She smiled and thanked the teacher. She walked further into the class and chose the one of the few available seats that was a corner seat in the back. Again, something else she'd have to get used to considering she was used to sitting closer to the board.

She watched as friends went back to talking, a couple looking in her direction then snickering. That was not new. She's used to being ridiculed by her peers, especially after beginning to date Nathan Scott. She sighed. What a shame this was the only thing her old and new school had in common. She decided to examine her schedule and the school map.

* * *

After the bell rang for the end of homeroom everyone was excused to head to their first periods.

Haley was standing in the middle of the hallway and looking at her map. She was utterly confused as to where she was going when she heard someone call her name. She looked up to see a guy approaching her.

"Haley? Haley James?" he asked.

"Yeah?" she answered confused as to how he knew her name.

"It's me. Alex Sharp. We went to grade school together in Tree Hill," he explained.

That's when she recognized him. "Oh my god. Alex, how are you?" She leaned in for a hug and when they parted she said, "I could barely recognize you, you're so tall! I have to look up at you now."

He laughed. "Yeah, I finally hit that growth spurt. How are you though? I didn't even know you go here."

"Today's my first day actually," she admitted. "I just transferred."

"From Tree Hill High?" he inquired.

She nodded. "Yup."

He smiled. "Nice, how is everyone anyways? You still talk to Luke and the river court guys?" Alex had been a friend of theirs before high school, they weren't extremely close, but they would hang out outside of school occasionally.

"They're good. And yeah, I still see them regularly. And you know me and Luke, we're practically brother and sister."

He laughed. "I remember. Although I always thought there was some undying love under it all."

Haley laughed. She remembered too. Alex was her first boyfriend, if you can really call their three week relationship that. He was, though, her first kiss. They broke things off after Alex began getting jealous of her spending time with Lucas. They stayed friends after though, until the end of 8th grade of course because he told them he was moving.

"Nope. Trust me we definitely don't see each other as more than friends."

"Okay, if you say so."

She shook her head at his coyness.

He nodded to her schedule, "Mind if I take a look?"

She didn't see why not and handed her schedule to him.

"Impressive. We share a couple of those honors classes."

"Yeah?"

"Yup, come on. I'll walk you to the next class," he offered.

"Okay, thanks," she responded.

* * *

"Ugh. You know, for a school with a five figure tuition, the food sucks," stated Alex while pushing his food tray away from him.

Haley had accepted his offer to show her around. He was still funny and nice from what she remembered and she could tell he'd be a good friend. Far from a replacement Lucas, but a good friend nonetheless, or at the very least decent company. They were currently having lunch and Haley couldn't help but feel eyes on her. "Is it just me or are people actually staring at me?"

Alex scrunched his forehead and looked around the quad. They were. "Nah, they're staring at me," he winked playfully.

She chuckled in amusement. His cockiness reminded her of Nathan. And speaking of, he just texted her back.

 _I miss you_ , it read. She smiled and replied back that she misses him too.

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?" Alex asked.

She just gave him a look and chose not to respond, but her blushing face gave it away.

"Oh my God. It is your boyfriend, isn't it?" he questioned.

She shrugged shyly. "So what if it is. Is it so hard to believe I could have a boyfriend?"

He quickly put his hands up in defense. "I'm not saying that. Trust me, I believe it." Haley rolled her eyes at his subtle jab. "Does he go to Tree Hill High?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Aww is Haley James blushing? She is!" he joked.

"Stop!" she swatted his hands when he tried to pinch her cheeks.

The two laughed. "How long have you been going out?"

"A couple months."

"Is it serious?"

She didn't respond right away and Alex was curious as to what she would say. She smiled before saying anything and he knew then, she was in love with her boyfriend. He wondered if she knew.

"It's getting there," she finally answered.

He nodded. "I get it."

She smiled softly. "What about you? I mean with your infectious personality and that giraffe height of yours you must be drowning in girlfriend proposals," she joked.

He chuckled. "I had a pretty serious girlfriend," he shrugged. "Things change though. People change."

She nodded understanding. She placed her hand on his forearm for comfort. "Her loss."

He looked at her hand then up to her sincere face. "Yeah."

* * *

It's been two weeks since Haley's been attending Bear Creek Academy and she was grateful for her friendship with Alex. He really made things at school easier, especially now since she was being targeted by random bullies.

It was just mostly petty stuff. 'Accidentally' shoving into her, dropping her books, snickering behind her back, etc. It started the second day of school and has been going on ever since. Because of the juvenile nature of it all she didn't bother telling Lucas or Nathan. She knew they'd blow it out of proportions, especially Nathan. In fact, it's also very subtle that she's not even sure if they're consciously seeking her out, which is why Alex doesn't even know.

It was her study hall and she chose to visit her locker to put away some books when she heard her phone ring. She dropped her book bag down and answered the phone with one hand while the other was entering the lock's combination.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," the voice answered.

"Nathan?" she asked. When she answered her phone she didn't get a chance to see who it was. "Wh- Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Shouldn't you?" he retorted.

"It's my free period before lunch. I told you that."

She heard him laugh. She misses him. Sure they still see each other when she comes home in the evening, but it's only for a short amount of time seeing as she has her cafe shift, her homework, and has to sleep early in order to wake up early.

"I know. And I'm calling because I wanted to come by and visit you at school for lunch."

Her locker was open at this point and she was struggling getting her books inside while still holding the phone. "What? What about school? It's a 30 minute drive from Tree Hill Nathan, you'll never make it back in time for your next class. And I don't want you ditching for me. Not when you're starting to do well in school."

"Relax tutor girl," she smiled at her nickname. "Turner called the day off. The fire alarm went off-"

"A fire? Are you all right? Is everyone else okay?" Haley asked panicked.

"Yes, we're okay." Haley exhaled in relief and Nathan chuckled at her reaction. He found it cute how she just jumped to conclusions. "And if you would've let me finish I would've said that the fire drill went off but it was by total accident. Tim tripped and held onto whatever he could before falling down and it happened to be the fire alarm. It was hilarious, but they treated it as this whole big thing. Fire station was even called and the school was evacuated. I guess they didn't want to take the chances of there being a real fire so they let us go."

"Oh, okay. And that's why you can visit?"

"Yup. That okay with you?"

Haley contemplated the situation. She did miss Nathan and having him here even for just a bit might be nice. "Yeah, it's fine with me."

"Great, 'cause I'm already on my way. I plan to get there at the start of lunch."

Haley laughed. Of course he was. "Alright. Ooh! You get to meet my friend Alex."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'd love to meet her."

Her? Haley thought. He must've thought her friend was girl. "Actually, Nathan, Alex-"

"Listen, Hales. I gotta let you go. I'm hitting up some major traffic and I've got to stay focused. I'll call you when I get there. Bye."

He hung up before she could continue. Oh well, he'll find out. She shut her phone and was about to close her locker when she was shoved into it. She looked behind her at who pushed her. It was a fairly empty hallway since everyone was in class so Haley could see the culprits. It was two girls. They high-fived and laughed as they walked away.

That was definitely not an accident, Haley thought. Nonetheless, Haley shrugged it off and headed to the bathroom. She headed to the farthest stall and closed the door. She was just about to sit down when she heard the stalls next to hers open and the voices that accompanied them.

"What's her name again?" Haley heard.

"Holly something, I think. I don't know. And besides, who cares? She's the slut that's hitting on Alex. I bet she's the whore who homewrecked him and Stacey," said the other voice.

"You think?"

"Duh! I mean you saw how she was with him last week. She was all over him in the quad."

"Wow."

"Yup. I say whatever comes to her, she deserves it."

The two girls shared a laugh before leaving the bathroom. Haley left the stall after hearing them leave. That's why she was being targeted? Because they think she's with Alex? God, could this be anymore high school? And that's when Haley remembered, it _was_ high school. She shook her head at the ridiculousness of the situation.

* * *

She was sitting at the table in the quad awaiting Nathan's call when she was joined by Alex.

"Hey, no lunch today?" he asked. When she didn't respond right away he said, "Wanna share?" while lifting his sandwich. She didn't respond again. Instead she was just alternating staring at her phone and the school parking lot. They've shared lunch before, so he didn't understand the hostility that was gravatating off of her. "Okay, what's up? What's wrong? You planning a jail break?"

She shook her head.

"Ah! Finally, a reaction. Seriously, what's going on Hales?"

She jerked her head in his direction at the sound of her nickname.

"What?" he asked.

"You've never called me Hales before," she pointed out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just remember Lucas used to call you that. My bad."

"No, it's okay. It just.. it caught me off guard." He nodded back, a questioning look still on his face. Haley sighed before speaking again. "Nathan's visiting me at lunch today. He picked up some lunch for us. He's gonna call me when he gets here. It should be soon."

Alex nodded understanding now. Her mind was on Nathan and that's why she was acting so distracted. "That's great. If you want, I could get lost and give you some time alone?" he offered.

She shook her head no. As much as she hated the way the girls were treating her, which is the reason behind her less than friendly attitude, she liked having Alex as a friend. Plus she wanted him to meet her boyfriend. "No, stay. I want you to meet Nathan. He's really great."

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna get something from the soda machine, want anything? For you and Nathan."

"Yeah, two cokes are fine. Thanks," she smiled.

As soon as he walked away her phone started ringing. The ringtone alone gave her butterflies. It's been weeks since she and Nathan have shared a lunch together. After answering her phone and finding out where he is, Haley left the table and rushed to the parking lot to find him.

When she located him she couldn't help but hug him. "I missed you!"

Nathan chuckled when she practically stampeded him. For such a small girl, she sure was strong. "I missed you too." When they pulled apart he took a good look at her. "Nice uniform," he smirked.

Haley swatted him on the shoulder. "Shut up. It's mandatory," she excused as she straightened out her plaid skirt.

"I meant it, Hales. It's hot."

She blushed at his words. "Come on, let's go sit down." She took hold of his hand and led them to the table she was previously sitting at.

"Did you bring my favorite?" she asked when she saw Nathan place the familiar take out bag from Karen's Cafe onto the table.

"Of course. Mac 'n Cheese," he handed the take out box to his girlfriend.

"Mmm, food of the gods," she stated as she took in the enticing smell.

Nathan shook his head in amusement. "How'd I end up with such a goof as my girlfriend?"

Haley laughed. "Shut up! You love it."

She said it joking but Nathan answered seriously, "I do."

Haley looked up from her food and the two shared a loving smile.

"So where's your friend?" he asked as he took out his own order

"Getting us some drinks."

"That's nice of her. I wish I would've known. I would have brought her something too."

Haley had forgotten that she never clarified Alex was a guy so she laughed at what Nathan said.

"What?" he asked perplexed at his girlfriend's sudden laughter.

She tried to tell him, she did, but it was hard to speak when she was laughing that hard. "I'm sorry, Nathan," she stifled through her laughter. "I tried telling you earlier but you hung up."

"Tried telling me what?" he asked, now with some laughter in his tone. After all, Haley's laughter was contagious.

"Alex is-"

"Right here," Alex finished while lifting three sodas. He placed them down at the table and sat across from the couple. "Hi, I'm Alex. You must be Nathan. Haley's told me a lot about you," he smiled sticking his hand out to greet him.

Nathan was still stunned by the revelation that the friend Haley's been hanging out with is a guy. And not like a nerd or dorky looking guy like Mouth or even Tim, but more like the type that could get girls' numbers with one look. He stared at Alex's hand before cautiously taking it. "Hey." What Nathan was feeling was beyond weird. He's never felt territorial or this protective over a girl. And he's never had to because at school people knew him, and they knew Haley was his girlfriend. Here, nobody knew.

Haley, now calmed down, could sense the tension so she decided to speak up. "Uh, Nathan, Alex went to grade school with us. He used to hang out with us at the river court before he moved away. So he knows Luke and the guys."

Nathan took a second look at Alex and slowly began to recognize him. "Oh yeah, I remember. They called you short stop, right? 'Cause you were the shortest guy in Little League."

"Nathan," Haley scolded. She remembered it was a sore subject for Alex then, being picked on for his height. She sent an apologetic look to Alex.

Alex just laughed it off. "Yeah, that was me. Guess I proved them wrong, huh? Summer after 8th grade I hit 5'5 and by the end of 9th grade I was 6 feet."

"Impressive," Nathan stated flatly, ignoring Haley's look.

Alex shrugged his attitude off. "You know, Haley didn't tell me you went to grade school with us."

"Well, I did," Nathan stated.

That's when it hit Alex. Haley's Nathan was Nathan Scott. As in Lucas's half-brother and what he thought, at least back then, enemy. "You're Nathan Scott."

Nathan nodded. "I am."

Alex looked at Haley, hoping for some clarification.

Haley took note and provided it. "Oh, um, he and Lucas are on better terms now. They're actually friends. Right, babe?" she asked Nathan as she locked arms with him. He instantly calmed down at the feel of her touch. He could tell she was reassuring him and he smiled gratefully.

Alex inwardly smiled at the couple. He was happy for Haley. He could tell this Nathan was far more decent than the Nathan he remembered. And he had a suspician it was Haley's doing. "So, what, Hales? You brought the two Scott brothers together?"

Haley laughed and in all modesty form she replied, "I wouldn't go that far."

"No, _Hales_ , I think you did," Nathan challened. It didn't go past Haley that he emphasized the way he said 'Hales'. It was his way of telling her why Alex was calling her that.

Haley stared at Nathan in disbelief. Was he seriously jealous? She quickly turned to Alex, "Do you mind if I take you up on that offer from earlier? About giving us some time alone? I just want to catch up with Nathan."

Alex knew when someone wanted him gone. "Say no more. It was nice.. meeting you Nathan."

Nathan nodded back in response.

After Alex left Haley turned to Nathan and whispered furiously, "What the hell was that Nathan? You're acting- You're-"

"I'm what?" he questioned.

"You're acting like a jerk. Like the jerk you were before I really knew you." She saw Nathan's shoulders relax and she softened her voice. "What's going on?"

"Are you into him?" he asked finding his food more interesting than ever.

"What?" asked an apalled Haley.

"He seems to be into you," he stated more confidently.

Haley looked at her boyfriend. "Nathan, are you seriously feeling threatened right now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Should I be? _Hales_ ," he sneered.

She scoffed at his attitude. "I cannot believe you."

"Why not? Haley, that guy is bad news."

"No Nathan, that guy is my friend. My only friend by the way. And I can't believe you have the audacity of going all caveman on someone who calls me by my common nickname all while girls endlessly flirt with you.. in front of me no less."

"What are you talking about? Girls? What girls?" he asked truly confused.

Haley took a moment to compose herself. "Everytime we go out Nathan you always get this unwarranted attention from girls. I mean, just the other night, when we went out to dinner our waitress wrote her number down on our receipt!"

"I didn't ask for it!"

Haley exhaled. "I know. But it happened. And just like I shouldn't go stir crazy everytime a girl winks or smiles at you, which by the way happens a lot, you shouldn't either at a guy who's an innocent friend. Okay?"

Nathan nodded. He had always received that type of attention from girls but didn't think much of it, especially now that he's with Haley. He had no idea she noticed it and that it bothered her either. "Okay. I'm sorry."

Haley sighed in relief. "Okay. Now, can we enjoy our lunch together. We only have like seven minutes left anyways."

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "Whatever you say."

Haley responded by kissing him chastily on the lips.

* * *

Alex was standing by the vending machines when he witnessed Haley and Nathan's conversation. How they went from argument to making up so quickly was beyond him. He took a sip from his coke.

"Damn it!"

He turned his head to the right where he saw his ex, Stacey, kicking the vending machine. He quickly debated with himself on whether he should help her. He hesitated before approaching her. His presence immediately stopped her. Without speaking he grabbed ahold of the machine and proceeded to tilt it, causing Stacey's drink to come down.

"Thanks," she said before reaching for her drink.

"You're welcome." He began walking away when her voice stopped him.

"I'm sorry!" she called out.

He turned around. "What?"

"For Chrissy and Tina," she clarified.

Now he was confused. "Why are you apologizing for them?" He knew they were her friends, pretty bitchy, but he didn't see why the apology was necessary.

"Because they think they're being good friends to me by getting back at the 'homewrecker' who ruined our relationship," she explained.

He wasn't sure what that meant but he kept a poker face. Stacey must've thought he wanted her to continue so she did, "The only reason they're going after the new girl is 'cause they think she's who you cheated on me with."

He began to angry steps toward her, "You mean to tell me that your little followers have been harrassing Haley?"

She met his eyes. "So it's true? She's who you slept with while we were dating?" she accused.

"Don't change this to make yourself look like you're the victim, Stace. You cheated on me with half of my teammates! All while we were together. The only victim here is Haley. She didn't do anything!"

She shook her head in anger. She avoided his eyes and chose to look out towards the quad. That's when she saw 'Haley' holding hands with some other guy. "Looks like she played you, just how you played me."

Alex looked in her direction and saw Haley walking with Nathan. She was probably walking him to his car. He laughed humorlessly. "That's her boyfriend."

"Does he know you've been screwing her?" she questioned.

"Unbelievable. You know what, say whatever you want about me. I don't care. I'm done. With you, and with everything. But the Haley bashing stops now. Get this through your thick skull Stacey: I didn't sleep with Haley, I slept with Allison," he revealed.

Her eyes got wide. "You told me I had nothing to worry about with her! That she was like a sister to you!"

He shrugged. As he walked away he kind of felt bad about snitching on Allison, but it's not like Stacey and her friends could touch her. Allison had graduated the year before and was in college across the country.

* * *

He saw Haley in the following period and sat down next to her. "Hey."

"Hi," she smiled. "Sorry about Nathan, he's just- I don't know what he was like. But I swear he's normally not like that."

"Don't worry about it. I get it. And actually it should be me saying sorry."

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

He then proceeded to tell her the backstory of him and Stacey and how it's her friends who've been harrassing her.

"Wow. And I thought Tree Hill had drama."

Alex laughed. "Yeah, sorry you got in the crossfire."

She shrugged. "It's okay. But I get now why you asked about me and Lucas. It's 'cause you and your best friend had 'undying love under it all'," she joked.

"Yup," he laughed. "You got me. But instead you fell for your best friend's brother."

"That I did," she admitted. She was flipping through her notebook to get to a clean page when Alex's next question forced her to stop.

"Does he know you love him?"

"Wha-"

"Don't deny it Hales. I see it on your face everytime you talk about him, talk to him, and today when he was here. It's pretty clear you do. Does he know?" he asked again.

Haley gulped. "Not yet," she answered softly. "I just don't want to scare him off, you know?"

He nodded. "Just don't wait too long. Besides, I have the feeling he may surprise you."

* * *

Later that day, during her closing shift, Haley was behind the counter reading for class. The dinner rush had just ended and the rest of the traffic seemed to die down. When the door's entrance bell rang she looked up and smiled at the guests. It was the river court guys with Lucas and Nathan. She put in their usual orders and grabbed a pitcher of water to begin serving them.

"Who won?" she asked as she approached their table with their glasses of water.

"I did," stated Lucas and Nathan simultaneously.

Haley laughed at their twin-like response and continued to do so when Nathan grabbed her by the waist and playfully plopped her down on his lap.

"So how'd Haley's preppy school look, Nate?"

Haley threw her towel at Lucas for his remark while the rest of the table laughed.

"Typical. Lots of rich snobs. That parking lot made Dan's dealership look like a used car shop."

"And baby girl left us for that? I'm hurt," joked Skills.

"It's not that bad," Haley defended.

"In all seriousness, how are the girls? Nate said he met one of your friends. She hot?" asked Skills.

Haley and Nathan laughed. "Skills, trust me when I say my friend is not your type."

Skills responded, "Girl, is my type."

"That's exactly why, man. Haley's friend is a dude," stated Nathan.

"Aw man." The group laughed.

"And you're okay with that Nate?" asked Lucas knowing he probably wouldn't be, after all it took him a while to get used to the fact that before meeting Peyton and Brooke, Haley's friends were all males.

He shared a look with Haley before replying, "I am now. Besides, apparently you guys go way back."

"Who is it?" asked Lucas.

"Alex Sharp. You remember him right?" answered Haley.

"Oh yeah! He was a cool dude!" Skills commented.

"Yeah, he and I had some pretty heated debates about baseball and basketball," mentioned Mouth.

"How is he?" wondered Lucas.

"He's good," replied Haley.

"He's tall. About my height," Nathan brought up.

"Really? Damn. Good for him."

"I still can't believe you're cool with this Nate," stated Lucas.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm cool with you guys being friends with Haley," his response earned him a kiss on the cheek from Haley. She was glad he was over his previous jealous state. Nathan took a sip of water which soon caushed him to slightly choke after Lucas's next statement.

"Well that's different. We weren't her first boyfriend and kiss."

Nathan coughed hard to retrieve his voice back. "What?! Is that true?" he questioned Haley.

Haley sent Lucas a hard look before softening her face to talk to Nathan. "It was years ago! We only dated for like three weeks. And our kiss, our only kiss, was an innocent peck. Besides, I never loved him, I love you!" she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth at the realization that she just told him she loved him for the first time during one of her ramblings and in front of their friends. She quickly got off of his lap and hurried behind the counter.

"Well, that escalated quickly," commented Skills.

Haley attempted to keep herself busy behind the counter by wiping it down. She almost didn't notice Nathan approaching her from behind the counter because of her focus on a particular grease stain. He placed his hand on hers and made her turn around to face him.

"Did you mean it?"

Her heartbeat was dangerously slow due to her anxiety. "Yes," she squeaked out.

He immediately smiled and bent down to kiss her. He tore apart afterwards to say, "I love you, too," and then proceeded to kiss her, this time more passionately.

Their friends ended their moment with their whistling and catcalls, and even Lucas joined in by singing "bow chick bow wow".

Nathan and Haley pulled away from each other reluctantly.

Due to their daze they hadn't noticed the entrance of two new visitors. It was Brooke and Peyton and they had chosen to sit at the counter in front of them. When Haley made eye contact with them Brooke winked and said, "I'll have what you're having."


End file.
